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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>From page 3 of the June 2015 issue of LP News, in an
article about the International Students for Liberty Conference in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Washington</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">DC</st1:State></st1:place>
in Feb. 2015:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>“In all, 317 attendees took advantage of a promotion to join the
LP for one year for free…many thanks to everyone who donated to pay for
this event.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>I assume this means that these attendees were given free
sustaining memberships for one year, and that all of them signed the membership
certification.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>If it is true that these memberships are being 100%
subsidized by donors who specifically donated for this purpose, and there is no
way that these donors would have given money to the General Fund or to any
other LP Project in 2015, then I suppose these members can be considered to
have cost the LP “nothing.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>However, if those donors would have given to some other LP
Project, or if one of my other assumptions above is wrong, then these members
came at a cost to the LP.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>My question is – will LPHQ staff track these members
to see how many of them are still members in December 2016? If their
renewal rate is much lower than our average first-year renewal rate, then I
would hope that staff would carefully review the economics of giving out “free
memberships” before they attempt this project again.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>OTOH, if the renewal rate of these students is comparable
to our usual first-year renewal rate, then I would assume the economics of
these types of giveaways yield a positive ROI for the LP, and in that case I hope
that staff can raise the money to repeat this project in other venues.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'> Scott Lieberman<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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